The Andromeda Galaxy
The Andromeda Galaxy is the closest galaxy to us and it is the largest in our galactic cluster. It was first named in Messier's Catalogs as M31 and M32 is the smaller galaxy to the bottom right. Andromeda is a spiral galaxy just like our own Milky Way Galaxy, you can tell this from the distinct bars or dust that run through the the galaxy. If you were to go to dark enough skies, the Andromeda galaxy would be around 5 times wider than the size of the moon in our night sky because of its proximity to us. The Andromeda galaxy is also getting closer to us every day, and it is projected to collide with our own galaxy in around 4 billion years.
The Pleiades
The Pleiades are what are commonly knows as reflection nebulas. A reflection nebula does not emit nearly any light itself, but it does reflect the light of other stars nearby. The Pleaides are commonly know are the seven sisters as there are seven stars that are visible to the naked eye at night, however it was first cataloged in Messier's catalogs as M45. The Pleaides is odd because this nebula actually exists in intergalactic space and may not be a part of our galaxy, its close proximity to our galaxy makes it visible to us however. It is theorized that the ploidies actually passed through our galaxy at one point, which may have started the formation of stars within that region.
The Great Nebula in Orion
The Great Nebula in Orion (commonly known as the Orion Nebula) is the brightest deep sky objects in the night sky and can be made out by the naked eye in most city light pollution. The Orion Nebula is an Oxygen and Hydrogen-Alpha Emission nebula, Oxygen being the blue color you see in the image and Hydrogen-Alpha being the reddish color. The Orion Nebula is a great example of a star formation nebula, where many stars are being formed every single day. To the left of the Orion Nebula is an oxygen emission nebula called the Running man Nebula. The Orion Nebula was first cataloged my Messier in his catalogs as M42. The Orion Nebula exists in a much larger area called Barnard's loop which is full of mostly static Stellar Dust, Barnard's loop is located in the closest, outer bar (or spiral) , of our Milky Way galaxy, our solar system is actually in a pretty empty party of our galaxy because we are located in between two of these bars or spirals.
The Moon
The Moon is the closest celestial body to Earth. Our Moon is very odd compared to all other moons we've studied from other moon's in our own solar system to moons of exoplanets that we've studied. What we have found is that many other moons are many tens of times smaller than the planet they orbit, however our moon is different. Our moon is only about 1/4 the size and 1/6 the mass of Earth. This odd occurrence in our solar system has been theorized to have been caused by a Mars size planet by the name of Thea, that collided with Earth at just the right angle and speed that it didn't tear earth apart, but close enough that the remains of the collision in space were able to form the moon we have today. It is also theorized that the moon may be responsible for life on Earth. If you look at pictures of other planets you will find that they are littered with craters, but Earth is not, and the Moon is responsible for that. The Moon's gravity pull asteroids away from colliding with Earth and instead many collide into the Moon. This was essential for life because instead of having a life threatening asteroid hit every few hundred years, with the moon where it is, they hit Earth every eon.
The Heart Nebula
The Heart Nebula is an Hydrogen-Alpha emission nebula in the constellation Cassiopeia. It is famous for its resemblance of a heart. This nebula is accompanied by another nebula called the soul nebula that I was not able to fit in frame. This was first cataloged in the IC catalogs by the name of IC1805. It is around 7500 light years away from us.
The Elephant's Trunk Nebula
The Elephant's trunk nebula is a Hydrogen-Alpha Emission nebula located in Cepheus some 2500 light years away. It is described as the elephants trunk nebula because of one nebulitic structure right above the center which resembles an elephants trunk. This is the first nebula I have photographed which has detailed formations of dark nebulae, or nebulae that don't emit light, but can be seen through the backlight of the rest of the nebula.
The Triangulum Galaxy
The Triangulum Galaxy is the smallest spiral galaxy in the Local group. It is in close proximity to the Andromeda galaxy, which it might be considered a satellite of. While most likely first cataloged by the Italian astronomer Hodiema, it was published in Messier's catalogue as Messier 33. Due to data collected, the Triangulum Galaxy is known to not be orbiting the Andromeda galaxy, it instead may have had a violent encounter 2-8 billion years ago. While it's fait is still unknown, it is projected it may collide with the andromeda galaxy again, merge with the andromeda and milky way, or be ejected from the local group.
The Rosette Nebula
NGC 2237, better known as The Rosette Nebula or Caldwell 49, is a Hydrogen Region with an open cluster closely associated with it. The Rosette nebula is visible throughout the majority of winter and into spring, it is roughly 5,000 light years away and spans nearly 130 light years in diameter. While not visible to the naked eye, it can be photographed by armature astrophotographers. Some think the nebula resembles a skull, giving it a nickname "The Skull Nebula"
The North American Nebula
The North American nebula is a hydrogen emission nebula in the constellation Cygnus. It is located approximately 2500 light years away while being 90 light years in diameter. (That's over 100 billion times larger than the North American continent!) The North American Nebula gets its name from its resemblance to the shape of North America. The nebula is actually part of a larger formation which encompasses the Pelican Nebula as well (seen to the right). It is separated by a cloud of non emission gasses and dust in front of the middle of the nebula which makes the two appear as separate.
The Horse Head and Flame Nebulae
The Horse Head and Flame Nebulae are two similar nebula in the constellation Orion. The horsehead nebula is a dense Hydrogen alpha area which has a smaller dark nebula that resembles a horse's head that blocks some of the light from the Hydrogen alpha region. The flame nebula, even though it is in the same larger dust cloud, produces a more broadband spectrum of colors. This Region of space is located around 1500 light years away in the farther bar of the milky way galaxy.
The Tadpoles
Located in the Auriga constellation, the Tadpole Nebula is a hydrogen emission nebula around 12,000 light years away. It gets its name from the distinctive little "tadpoles" that can be seen in the bottom left of the nebula. Each tadpole is around 10 light years long and are sites of star formation.
The California Nebula
GALAXIES
Due to how small most of these are in the night sky, they are lower quality compared to the others.